Carlotta trotted her horse over.
“Hey, you all right?”
“Yes.” Maggie’s voice croaked, and her throat felt raw. “We need to get a head count. I saw Bitty a while ago, and I think Rhonda.”
“Mariah and Poppy are fine.”
“Well, see who else is out here.”
“We all ran for horses when we heard the gunshots,” Carlotta said.
Maggie nodded grimly. “We need to make sure nobody got caught in the stampede.”
“Right.” Carlotta wheeled her horse away.
Most of the cattle were grazing now, but the least noise or sudden movement could send them off in a panic again. Maggie rode out to where a few had separated from the rest and gently nudged them back toward the herd.
Mariah found her a half hour later.
“Maggie, have you seen Alex?”
Maggie jerked her chin up. “He’s in this?”
“Well, he’s out here somewhere. I saw him an hour ago at the head of the herd, when they were still stampeding. I don’t know if we could have turned them without him.”
Maggie’s chest tightened. Had Alex started the maelstrom so he could ride in and be the hero?
“Who else have you seen?” she asked.
“Helen, Poppy, Celine, Rhonda … oh, and Carlotta.”
Maggie nodded, cataloguing in her head all the women. “Have you seen Sarah?”
“Not for quite a while.” Mariah rode in closer. “Are you sure you’re all right? You sound awful.”
Maggie coughed. “It’s the dust.”
“Well, Alex said he wanted to talk to you after the herd calmed down.”
“Oh, I’ll just bet he did.”
Alex rode slowly behind Nevada. They didn’t dare go faster than a jog, for fear of agitating the cattle again. They came to a large boulder near the tree line, and Nevada dismounted. Alex grabbed his canteen, jumped down, and followed him to the base of the rock, where Early lay sprawled on the ground.
“How are you doing?” Alex crouched on one side of the old cowboy and Nevada knelt on the other.
“Thought you boys fergot about me.”
“We’d never do that.” Alex pulled the stopper from his canteen. “Here—drink some of this.”
“What’s in it? Warm water?”
“Well, yeah. It’s all we’ve got.”
Early took it, but he fumbled using only one hand. Alex reached to steady the canteen, and Nevada slipped an arm behind Early’s neck and held him up while he drank.
“Thanks.” Early pushed the canteen away and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “I tried to get up a while ago, but everything spun around, so I stayed put.”
Alex peered at his left arm. A bandanna was tied around it just below the shoulder. He couldn’t tell in the darkness how much it was bleeding. “Maybe the gals have something medicinal at the chuck wagon.”
Nevada leaned over Early. “Can you ride to their camp if we hoist you onto your horse?”
“Maybe.”
Two horses trotted up, and Maggie and Carlotta hit the ground within yards of them.
“Who’s hurt?” Maggie asked, striding closer.
Alex stood and pulled his hat off. “It’s Early Shaw. One of the outlaws shot him.”
“Outlaws?”
“Yes’m.”
Maggie glared at him. “You expect me to believe you didn’t have a hand in this?”
Alex’s heart raced like a freight train. “I do.”
“I told you weeks ago to leave us alone, but you followed us all this way.”
Alex swallowed hard. As he’d thought, she’d set her mind and her heart against him. “It was only to make sure you’d get to the stockyards all right.”
“Oh, because I’m an incompetent female?”
“No. Because we heard there were rustlers working this area earlier, and because we knew Tommy Drescher was having thoughts of harming you and your enterprise.”
Maggie stood scowling at him for several seconds. “I’m not sure you’re telling the truth.”
“Why would he lie to you?” Nevada Hatch towered over Maggie. “You’re acting like a spoiled brat. We caught Tommy and his bunch once near Brownwood, about to stampede your cattle, and we ran them off. Tonight we risked our lives to try and help you. Early got hurt defending your property. Now, if you want to treat him the way your pa treated Leo, just get on your horse and ride away. We’ll take care of our own.”
Alex pulled on Nevada’s arm. “Take it easy.”
“What, and let her wipe her feet on you?”
Alex kept one hand firmly on Nevada’s arm and raised the other as a signal for him to pull back. He turned to face Maggie and squared his shoulders.
“First things first, and then we’ll leave if you want us to. Did all your drovers make it?”
Carlotta stepped up beside Maggie. Silver conchos on her hatband glinted in the moonlight. “I just took a head count. We’ve got a few bruises, but all of our women are accounted for.”
“Good. Glad to hear it. The women I saw working the herd did a good job.” Alex focused his attention on Maggie again. “Now, second: We think Nevada hit one of the outlaws. We’d like to go to the next town and see if they’ve got a lawman. If you’d be kind enough to lend your wagon, we’d take Early and see if he can get some medical help.”
Maggie cleared her throat. “I … Yes, of course. But Rhonda could look at him right away if you want. She’s very good with nursing.”
“That’d be fine. If he needs a doctor, we’ll take him afterward.” Alex held her gaze. “Third thing.”
“Yes?”
“When it’s daylight, we’ll look for the man Nevada shot, and we’d be pleased to help you round up any cattle that strayed off during the stampede.”
Maggie looked down. “We haven’t got a count of the herd yet, but I think we’re missing a couple of hundred head.”
Alex nodded. “It’ll take a while to find them. If you can use Nevada and me, we’re at your disposal for the day.” He flicked a glance at Nevada.
“That’s right,” his friend said. “But if you still want us out of here, we’ll be gone as soon as we get Early tended to.”
Alex nodded and waited for Maggie to speak. Carlotta leaned over and whispered something in her ear.
Maggie hauled in a deep breath. “Do you swear you weren’t involved in causing this trouble?”
Alex’s throat tightened, and his eyes burned. He wasn’t sure he could speak. “Maggie, I would never do something like that. Never.”
Nevada shifted, but Alex shot him a warning glance, and he remained still.
“Hey, boys,” Early said plaintively, “if you all are done yammerin’, how about askin’ Bronc’s wife if she’s got any whiskey in camp? I’m feeling kinda peaked.”
“I’ll get her,” Carlotta said and hurried to her horse.
Maggie went to Early’s side and crouched down. “Early, I want to thank you, and to say I’m truly sorry this happened to you. When you get better, if you need a job, you come and find me, all right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Much obliged.”
She stood and looked toward Alex and Nevada, her face white as milk and her eyes heavy. “I owe you an apology as well. Thank you very much. And we’ll accept your offer to help round up the strays in the morning. Now I’ll go check in with Shep and see if he can bring the buckboard up here and help you with Early.”
Alex watched her mount and ride off, her head high.
“Well, now,” Nevada said. “She’s still got a ways to go, but that’s an improvement.”
“I don’t blame her for thinking ill of us,” Alex said. “We did plague her back at the sheep ranch, and we followed her after she said to stop.”
“You would think that way.” Nevada shook his head. “Well, you can have her, so far as I’m concerned—she’s not to my taste. But that Herrera girl, now she might interest me. She’s spunky. I can see myself ridin’ the range with h
er.”
By sunup, Maggie’s fatigue had her slumping in the saddle. Carlotta tried to persuade her to sleep, but she couldn’t do that yet. The cattle had begun to graze and seemed fairly well settled, but she wanted to keep them where they were for the day, while she and her outfit rounded up strays.
“Let’s eat breakfast, and then we’ll count the herd,” she said.
Alex and Nevada returned an hour after dawn with a third man. Maggie and eight other women met them on horseback near the herd, where they’d just finished their tally. The others had gone to their bedrolls so they could relieve Maggie’s team after noon.
Maggie rode toward Alex with her stomach fluttering. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with him, or if she ought to love him as fiercely as she did. She’d acted with inexcusable rudeness last night.
“How’s Early?” she asked.
“Not too bad.” Alex looked tired. His new beard was coated with dust, and his eyes creased at the corners. “It’s a flesh wound, like Rhonda thought. The doctor’s keeping him today. We’ll pick him up tomorrow, if he’s able to ride.”
“I’m glad.”
“Oh, and Shep’s bringing your wagon in. We rode on ahead.” Alex looked to his left, past Nevada, to the other man. “We brought along a Ranger. He’s going to look at where Nevada and Early had the dust-up with that bunch last night.”
The Texas Ranger touched his hat brim. “Ma’am.”
“Thanks for coming out here,” Maggie said. “I asked my drovers not to go near that area.”
“Did you get a count on your cattle?” Nevada asked.
“Yes. As near as I can tell, we’re out about two hundred and fifty. We’re heading out now to look for them.” Maggie pressed her lips together. She hoped the cattle hadn’t caused any damage in their rampage. All she needed was some irate landowner demanding money.
“We’ll help you, as soon as we show the Ranger where it happened,” Alex said. His brown eyes held her gaze for a moment, steady and true.
Maggie’s tiny flame of hope flared. Maybe when she was rested she could think about Alex and what he meant to her. Right now she had to keep moving, or she’d collapse from fatigue.
He gave her a quick smile and touched his hat brim, then loped with the other men toward the rock where Early had been shot.
“All right, ladies, let’s split into two groups,” Maggie said. The other women clustered their horses around hers for directions.
Maggie took Sarah, Bitty, and Helen with her and put Carlotta in charge of the second group. They rode northwest, where they’d earlier found tracks leading away from the herd. They trotted along, checking in copses, behind scattered buildings, and over knolls. They’d just spotted a bunch of about forty cattle bearing the Rocking P brand when Alex loped up behind them on his red roan.
The women stopped and waited for him. “Did you find anything?” Maggie asked as he brought Red closer.
“Yeah, we did.” Alex glanced at Sarah and then back at Maggie. “Tommy Drescher was lying just a few yards inside the woods. He’s dead.”
Sarah gasped and covered her mouth with one hand.
Maggie nudged her horse over next to Sarah’s and touched her shoulder. “Why don’t you go back to camp and lie down? We can get these cattle.”
Sarah shook her head. “No … I’m … I’m all right.”
“Sweetheart, you’ve been up all night, and this is a shock,” Maggie said softly.
Tears streaked Sarah’s dirty face. “Oh, Maggie, this is all my fault.”
“Don’t be silly. How could it be?”
“Tommy was furious with me. You heard him.”
Maggie shook her head. “Tommy was angry with my father. It’s Papa he wanted revenge on, not you.”
“But he was so upset when he saw me riding with you!”
Maggie patted her shoulder. “Sarah, whatever sorrows you’re having may be your fault, but my troubles are not. God put us in this situation. And do you know what He says?”
Sarah blinked through her tears and shook her head.
“He says to do our best for Him. You’ve been doing that. But you won’t answer for Tommy’s actions. He will.”
Sarah drew in a shaky breath. “I know you’re right, but it hurts.” Her voice broke.
“Of course it does.” Maggie leaned over and managed to give her a hug before their horses shifted apart. “Look, Sarah, I want you to go back to camp. Helen, will you go with her?”
Helen nodded. “Sure. Come on, Sarah. They’ve got a big, strong cowpuncher to help them now. Let’s you and me go back.”
Alex smiled without humor. “I’d be happy to assist with the cattle.”
Sarah allowed Helen to guide her back toward camp. Maggie looked at Alex from beneath the brim of her Stetson. Her heart ached for Sarah, but her love for Alex was building, even when she’d neglected it. She couldn’t turn him away again to prove she didn’t need him. She didn’t want to.
“Thank you.”
Alex’s eyes brightened. “No problem. Let’s get these critters moving.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
With Alex and Nevada helping, they were able to bring back most of the strays by midafternoon. Maggie had dark circles under her eyes, but Alex feared she wouldn’t rest until they’d found every one.
“Look, you’re only thirty short of your count,” he told her as they left their horses on the remuda’s picket line. “I think you should rest up and go on in the morning.”
“Thirty head,” she said bleakly, looking off toward the south. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
“Not really. It’s impossible to look everywhere. That bunch could have kept running for a long time. Cut your losses, Maggie, and be thankful it’s not worse.”
She sighed. “I suppose that’s good advice.”
Alex hesitated, but decided there wouldn’t be a better moment, so he cleared his throat. “Nevada and I talked last night. If you’ll let us, we’d like to go on with you and help you get them to the stockyards. You don’t have to pay us.”
“You’d do that?”
“Yes.”
He thought she wavered, but after a moment she set her jaw firmly. “Thank you, but I can’t accept.”
His heart sank. “Why not? Because of the strike? I think we can officially say the strike is at an end now.”
“Not because of that. These women have earned the right to bring the herd in on their own. I’d like them to be able to go back to Brady and tell their friends we did it without men.” Her eyes flickered. “That’s not to disparage your help last night and today. We appreciate that more than I can say, but up until now we’ve had a successful, all-woman drive.”
Alex gave her a grudging smile. “I understand. If we come into it now, we’ll ruin your reputation.”
“Well, not exactly.”
“What about Shep?”
“Yes, well, he’s been a big help, but he hasn’t driven the cattle.”
“So he doesn’t count.”
She huffed out a breath. “Of course he counts, as far as work goes, but not as a drover. I think my girls can claim the distinction of being part of the first all-female cattle drive.”
Alex laughed. She was a stubborn thing, and even with a dirt-streaked face and matted hair, she was the most attractive woman he’d ever seen.
“Have it your way. Would it upset you if we tag along—at a distance, of course? Just until we know you’re safely there?”
“No, that wouldn’t upset me. It might even be a comfort.”
Her smile was a bit wan, but Alex felt more encouraged than he had since leaving the Porter Ranch.
“Thanks. I promise we won’t interfere unless you have a crisis. But I’ll be praying that doesn’t happen.”
Tears glistened in Maggie’s eyes, but she smiled. “Tell you what: if all goes well, we’ll treat you boys to dinner in Fort Worth.”
Alex’s pulse picked up. She hadn’t said she liked him, but at least
she didn’t hate him.
“Sounds good. Now why don’t you get some rest? I’ll take one more look around for those thirty head.”
Four nights later, Maggie’s cowgirls dressed for dinner at the hotel’s dining room—one of the finest restaurants in Fort Worth. They’d delivered the cattle to the stockyards the day before, and Maggie had negotiated with the hotel manager to let the women have rooms and baths while she sold the herd. Now that they’d all cleaned up and had a good night’s sleep followed by a day of shopping, they were ready to head home tomorrow.
“So, your papa will be happy, you think?” Carlotta asked as she brushed Maggie’s hair. They shared a room, and Maggie would have enjoyed it tremendously if she could have quit fretting about the money it cost.
“Well, the income is a little lower than we hoped for, but I think Papa and I will breathe a little easier. It will cover all the accounts we have for the ranch in Brady, and it should get us through the year, if we’re careful.”
Carlotta nodded. “Good. And what about the hospital?”
Maggie grimaced. “I’m going to send the sanatorium a substantial payment. But it won’t wipe out the debt. It’ll take at least another year to do that.”
Carlotta hugged her. “I’m sorry about that, but you have done well. Did you hear back from your papa or Dolores?”
“Not yet. I sent the telegram this morning, as soon as I got paid, but I suppose it might be a while before someone takes it to the ranch.”
“They’ll get it.”
“I’m just glad we didn’t have one waiting for us here with bad news.”
“Yes,” Carlotta said. “Dolores would have sent one if she needed you to come home.”
“Thank you. That’s comforting.” Maggie smiled. “And I feel a lot better since I paid you girls off.”
“It was fun shopping today.” Carlotta grinned. “Now help me decide—which dress should I wear? The one from home, or the new one?”
Cowgirl Trail Page 24